IT’S A TISHY SUBJECT AT RALLY
Village showdown over AG’s ‘Drag Story’ stunt
State Attorney General Letitia James’ “Drag Story Hour” drew more than 100 protesters from all sides Sunday — forcing cops and even City Council security guards to the raucous Manhattan scene.
The event at The Center, an LGBTQIA+ community facility on West 13th Street in Greenwich Village, had already drawn fire from critics who griped about using tax dollars to have drag performers read stories to children at various Big Apple locations.
Adding to the price tag Sunday was the City Council’s sergeant-at-arms squad, which was on hand to provide security for at least six city lawmakers in attendance.
“The council security team goes to all these events where the council members go and there’s a chance of someone being hurt,” Councilman Erik Bottcher (D-Manhattan) told The Post outside the event.
Bottcher said that a council member who funded one of the events has had unwelcome visitors to his home and had his office vandalized, so security is “certainly not taking any chances.”
The events are co-sponsored by the nonprofit Drag Story Hour NYC, which has received more than $200,000 in city contracts since 2018, according to records — prompting outcry from critics.
Bottcher said Sunday’s event involved “a couple dozen kids with their families” inside.
Police said at least one unruly protester outside was arrested, while a contingent of NYPD motorcycles was seen escorting a reputed member of the right-wing Proud Boys to safety during the demonstration.
The busted person was described by cops as an “anti-drag story protester arrested for assaulting a prodrag agitator.”
The suspect’s identity was not immediately available.
Demonstration divide
Meanwhile, protesters on both sides of the debate faced off outside the event.
“I’m against kids being exposed to sexually explicit material, to grown men in dresses twerking in front of them showing their breasts, showing off their behinds to little kids and try
ing to indoctrinate them into trangenderism,” said John McGuigan of New Jersey.
McGuigan said he is gay but is rejected by that community because he is conservative.
Nearby, LGBTQ supporters held up a “Stop the Hate” banner and chanted “We are home!” behind barricades outside the nearby Kaplan Diamond Building.
“I’m here to actually protect our vulnerable communities — our trans community, our kids,” said Michael Henry, 52, of Washington Heights. “There’s a whole lot of ignorant people in this world.”
Bottcher added, “A couple dozen kids with their families just sitting on mats and being read stories.
“Guess what? It was like any other story hour. It just happened to be read by a colorful character in a costume.
“And the idea that this is going to make kids want to grow up to be drag queens is ludicrous,” he said.
In a statement from the attorney general’s office Sunday, James said the point of the event was “to condemn hate and combat rampant disinformation.
“The recent rise in anti-LGBTQ+ protests, rhetoric and policies has left New Yorkers — myself included — devastated and disappointed,” James said.
“But I know better than anyone that when the choice is between love and hate, between joy and venom, New Yorkers will always choose love, and New Yorkers will always choose joy.”